The present disclosure relates to a transport device for conveying products.
In one example of a known transport device for conveying products, several slides are moved along a guide rail independently of each other. The guide rail comprises a linear motor drive device for driving the slides, wherein each slide comprises at least one permanent magnet, which interacts with the linear motor drive device. A transport device of this type with a linear motor drive is known from WO 2013/156177 A1.
A transport device which uses a guide rail and several slides individually movable along the guide rail is also known from DE 10 2012 210 329 A1. The slides comprise retaining elements projecting from them perpendicularly to the conveying direction. For the transport of a single product, a pair of slides is provided, wherein the slide in the rear acts as the pusher slide, and the slide in the front acts as the retaining slide. The movement of the slides is controlled in such a way that the product is held between the retaining elements of the two slides. As long as the product is being transported along a straight rail, no problems occur. But if the products are moved along a path which changes direction at certain points, the retaining elements shift their positions relative to each other. As a result, the product is no longer retained reliably